United States President, Donald Trump, has said he is not bothered about whether Iran’s national team competes at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, despite growing uncertainty surrounding the country’s participation.
In an interview with Politico on Tuesday, Trump dismissed the issue, saying, “I really don’t care,” when asked if Iran should take part in the tournament.
He added, “I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They’re running on fumes.”
The comments come amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, which have sparked questions about whether Iranian players, officials and supporters would be granted entry into the United States, one of the host nations of the competition.
Over the weekend, the US and Israel carried out coordinated strikes on Iranian targets. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on American and allied facilities in the Gulf region, fuelling fears of a broader regional conflict.
World football’s governing body, FIFA, has long maintained that politics should not interfere with the World Cup. The 2026 edition will be jointly hosted by United States, Canada and Mexico, the first time three countries will stage the tournament together.
Iran had already secured qualification and is drawn in a group alongside New Zealand national football team, Belgium national football team and Egypt national football team.
However, Iran’s football federation president, Mehdi Taj, recently hinted that the current security climate could impact the country’s World Cup plans. Speaking to Iranian sports outlet Varzesh3 after the strikes, he said it would be difficult to look ahead to the tournament with optimism under the present circumstances.
The 2026 World Cup is expected to draw millions of fans from across the globe.
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